TORONTO – Syngrafii Inc. – August 8th, 2019 – Syngrafii Inc. and TradeMark East Africa have collaborated and partnered with the EAC Secretariat to transform the method of executing agreements amongst and between the Partner States through the deployment of a Digital Channel for the remote signing of official documents. TMEA has facilitated the deployment of the Syngrafii platform within the EAC Secretariat where we have installed the first Syngrafii LongPen™ in conjunction with sPaper™ to deliver improved operational performance, greater geographic market reach and faster document execution for the EAC Member States. This will service both diverse governmental initiatives and their respective business units along with their partners and the constituents they serve.
Highlights:
The EAC Secretariat has adopted ICTs and continues to develop IT infrastructure in order to facilitate and support daily activities and operations. This has resulted in an increased efficiency. The EAC Secretariat established a Video Conferencing system between its headquarters and Partner States to facilitate its core business needs.
It wished to enhance the VC system by introducing an online signature system. There is a requirement to implement a system that allows a report to be signed online immediately after a meeting.
The solution integrates the LongPen™ and sPaper™ for the signing of critical and highly confidential documents which require an authenticated “Wet-Ink” signature in order to meet the diverse, geographically constrained governmental compliance and governance requirements.
Syngrafii’s LongPen™ Printer and sPaper™ enables The EAC signing Ministers to execute complex, highly sensitive legal agreements and contracts in a more timely manner while enhancing the level of compliance and improving the global carbon footprint.
Syngrafii’s seamless integration into The EAC’s operations has resulted in an immediate improvement to our document execution processes. The EAC will be able to reduce Minister and staff travel times while meeting or exceeding tight timelines of completion. The EAC anticipates significantly further benefits as they expand the use of the platform.
The Syngrafii system does not require any pre-processing of documents allowing The EAC to use ALL existing approved documents and forms, reducing process change risk; as well as saving time and money on the integration into their operational systems. These savings in time and document management efficiency deliver an additional operational effectiveness.
Supporting Quotes:
The EAC
“We are very excited to be working with Syngrafii on this ground-breaking initiative. We believe that this technology is revolutionary, and it is already changing the way our legally binding documents and agreements are presented and ‘signed’ by our Partner States and other institutions and supporting agencies.
The reaction from our constituents to remote paperless signings thus far has been overwhelmingly positive. They are impressed not only by the fact that the paperwork is being processed faster, they also comment on how convenient & environmentally friendly the process is.
Syngrafii has enabled The EAC to securely sign documents across geographically dispersed locations and operations while exceeding all compliance and non-repudiation requirements of the transaction. Combined with Syngrafii’s convenience and ease of use we can securely, quickly and confidently execute agreements and contracts with our Partners States.”
Further TMEA Testimonial:
“Indeed it has been a pleasure working with Syngrafii. The gains from the operationalization of the online signature system, are perceptible and it has enhanced the speed of decision making at the EAC Secretariat. There are no longer major delays in key Organizational meetings (although of course some meetings remain physical in nature, especially those that require negotiations and longer deliberations).
TMEA is proud to have facilitated that process.”
About TradeMark East Africa
TradeMark (Trade and Markets) East Africa is a multi-purpose donor funded, not-for-profit Aid for Trade organisation, established to support the growth of trade – both regional and international – In East Africa. TMEA operates on a not-for-profit basis and is funded by the development agencies of the following countries: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Norway, UK, and USA. TMEA works closely with East African Community (EAC) institutions, national governments, the private sector and civil society organisations.
Established in 2010, TMEA supports a portfolio of programmes across the East Africa Community partner countries, working closely with our partners - the EAC Partner States, EAC Secretariat, the private sector and civil society - TMEA has made a significant contribution to this growth by delivering large scale impact in its highly successful first strategic phase which was completed in December 2017.
TMEA Is now embarking on Its second strategic phase for the six years from 2017/18 to 2022/23 known as “Strategy 2” which seeks to increase trade by unlocking economic potential anchored on 2 key outcomes:
Reduced barriers to trade; and
Improving business competitiveness.
We believe there are several pathways from increased trade to sustainable, inclusive prosperity through, for example, job creation, poverty reduction, economic growth, increased government revenue, enhanced economic welfare, and greater economic resilience.
TMEA has its headquarters in Nairobi with offices in Arusha, Bujumbura, Dar es Salaam, Juba, Kampala and Kigali.
Syngrafii is the only eSignature company in the world that brings the security & the case law associated with the execution of paper documents into the fast lane of the digital age.
Syngrafii provides the proprietary option of executing original biometric ink signatures onto hard copy or electronic documents when and where you want.
The only Signature solution that protects users’ Signature technology investment & business-forward flexibility. Syngrafii’s Signature platform allows users to implement the right Signature solution they need, whether click-to-sign, Type to sign, or the Gold Standard Wet Ink on Digital & Paper documents. Syngrafii… One Vendor… One Platform
More Information: Matthew M. Gibson CEO and Co-Founder Syngrafii Inc. E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Eng. Daniel Murenzi Principal Information Technology Officer East African Community
Nelson Karanja Communications Director TradeMark East Africa
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 15th August 2019: East African Community Partner States are working to harmonise education systems and curricula in the region.
EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of Planning and Infrastructure, Eng. Steven Mlote, said that the harmonisation would ensure quality and standardised education which would in turn guarantee skilled and tech-savvy manpower for the labour market in the region.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 13th August, 2019: A group of 15 cyclists who are participating in the 3rd East African Community Bicycle Tour (Tour d’EAC) were today flagged off at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.
Flagging off the group of volunteer cyclists, the EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of Planning and Infrastructure, Eng. Steven Mlote, hailed the cyclists for their efforts in complementing initiatives by the Secretariat to create awareness on the integration process.
Eng. Mlote noted that it was encouraging that the annual initiative which started with cyclists from Uganda only in 2016, had now expanded to include cyclists from Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania.
He urged the cyclists to mobilize more youth in the region to appreciate the importance of regional integration as a way of empowering East Africans and making East Africa united and stronger.
The Deputy Secretary General said that the movement of the cyclists across the region had been made possible by the free of movement of persons as enshrined in the EAC Common Market Protocol.
Eng. Mlote assured East Africans that the Community was growing stronger with each passing day, adding that it had recorded many achievements which were gradually beginning to trickle down to ordinary East Africans.
In her remarks, Ms Joyce Kevin Abalo from the GIZ Office at the EAC Headquarters, assured the cyclists that the German Technical Cooperation would continue working closely with the EAC Secretariat to ensure that the event was a success.
Ms Abalo urged the cyclists to endeavour to complete the journey noting that success can only be attained through discipline and perseverance.
Speaking at the event, the Coordinator of the Tour D’EAC, Mr John Balongo, requested the EAC Secretariat to include the tour in its Calendar of Activities in the future.
“We also want to request that in future events, all ministries support individual cyclists from their respective countries,” said Balongo, adding that the group’s aim was to educate EAC citizens on the importance of a united East Africa.
“We seek to stir up interest of groups and individuals in the understanding of the land, and people of East Africa. Subsequently, this results into growing personal and group relationships across the region multiplying out into travel, trade and many other beneficial linkages,” he said.
Also present at the event was the EAC Director General, Customs and Trade, Mr Kenneth Bagamuhunda.
The 3rd Tour d’EAC was flagged off on 1st August, 2019 at the Independence Monument in Kampala by Uganda’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for EAC Affairs, Hon. Dr Ali Kirunda Kivejinja, and the Tanzanian High Commissioner to Uganda, H.E. Aziz Ponary Mlima. The cyclists arrived in Nairobi on the evening of Wednesday, 7th August, 2019 where they were hosted by the Ministry of EAC and Regional Development in Kenya one day later.
NOTES TO EDITORS:
The Tour d’EAC 2019 is expected to cover 4,300 km around East Africa over a period of 50 days. The aim of the Annual East African Bicycle Tour is to promote the spirit of East Africanness among the people of East Africa, the tourism and business potential of the Community while enhancing awareness about the social and cultural peculiarities of people and places in the EAC.
The ultimate goal of the initiative is to bring the citizens of East Africa to own the integration process as enshrined in the Treaty for the Establishment of the EAC. The tour is also one of the activities to mark the Community’s 20th Anniversary.
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For more information, please contact:
Mr Owora Richard Othieno Head, Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Department EAC Secretariat Arusha, Tanzania Tel: +255 784 835021 Email: OOthieno [at] eachq.org
About the East African Community Secretariat:
The East African Community (EAC) is a regional intergovernmental organisation of six Partner States, comprising Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudna, Tanzania and Uganda, with its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.
East African Community Secretariat, Arusha, Tanzania, 12th August, 2019: The 12th Edition of the East African Community Military Games and Cultural Event is currently underway at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani in Nairobi, Kenya.
The event which runs from 11th to 26th August, 2019 has drawn 500 sportsmen and sportswomen from the Defence Forces in all the six EAC Partner States, namely: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 2nd August, 2019: The Federal Republic of Germany has committed Euro 35 million to East African Community to be invested in vaccination programmes in the Partner States.
Speaking at the EAC headquarters, Senior Policy Officer from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Ms Claudia Imwolde-Krämer said Germany is contributing Euro 35 million to immunization programmes in the EAC. “I appreciate and acknowledge the EAC’s efforts to immunize every child in the region”.
The Centre of Excellence for Information and Communication Technology in East Africa (CENIT@EA) organized the event ICT4Business on 18 July in Kigali, Rwanda. Around 40 participants from the private and public sector discussed their needs and requirements for digitalisation and how CENIT@EA can provide relevant skills, capacities and know-how to the private and public sector to enable them to reap benefits from the digital transformation.
In his opening remarks, Mr Karera, Chairman of the East African Business Council (EABC), emphasized the need for the industry to digitalise and use Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in their business processes. The Principal Information Technology Officer of the East African Community (EAC), Mr Murenzi, pointed out that digital transformation is a priority of the EAC’s 5th Development Strategy. The Senior Systems Officer of the Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA), Mr Ruhinda, added that CENIT@EA is a very important regional initiative providing skills and know-how for the success of the digital transformation. Ms Focken, Cluster Coordinator for EAC, pointed out in her opening remarks that a continuous exchange between industry and academia is crucial for developing needed skills and support the use of technology and innovation in East Africa.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 25th July, 2019: The Inter-University Council of East Africa (IUCEA), an institution of the East African Community (EAC), is currently running an advert for the nascent EAC Scholarship Programme.
The advert is basically inviting applications for Master’s degree scholarships tenable at universities in four EAC Partner States, namely Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. The advert, which runs from 5th July to 1st August, 2019, was first published in the 6th – 12th July edition of the weekly The East African newspaper. It is also available on the IUCEA website: https://iucea.org/
The number of available scholarships under the programme are 157 under six thematic areas, namely: Mathematics; Engineering; Informatics; Science; Technology, and; Business Science.
The EAC Scholarship Programme is the product of a financing agreement of €5 million signed between the EAC and the Federal Republic of Germany on 9th April, 2018. The scholarship programme is being implemented in cooperation with IUCEA and KfW, the German Development Bank.
The goal of the programme is to promote the integration agenda in East Africa by supporting higher education students. Scholarship beneficiaries will undoubtedly foster awareness about the integration, and spur social change and economic growth.
The programme is designed to support EAC students with academic talent and leadership qualities. In addition to the provision of scholarships, the EAC scholars will be actively facilitated through programme activities such as regional leadership seminars and mentoring schemes.
It is further anticipated that the beneficiaries of the scholarship programme will become highly skilled ‘change agents’ for their home communities as qualified professionals with a strong understanding of regional challenges, approaches and expertise in their subject fields.
The EAC region has a long history of cooperation in education particularly between Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, which are the founders of the Community. The EAC is cognizant of the fact that most of its aspirations can only be achieved through high quality and relevant education and training.
Under Article 103(a) of the EAC Treaty, Partner States undertook to promote cooperation in the development of science and technology, which are viewed as the prime movers of regional integration and development. The Community’s objective then is to develop a completely harmonized East African education system for the enhancement of a productive human resource base.
Inherent in a harmonized education system are: the establishment of a common reference to facilitate comparability, compatibility, equation and mutual recognition of education/training systems and qualifications among Partner States. There is also the shared view among Partner States on quality, criteria, standards and learning outcomes; promoting mobility of students and labour to foster integration, and; promotion of the region as a Common Higher Education Area.
The harmonization of education systems and curricula dates way back to the first Community. The EAC had a single examination system and same curricula. The University of East Africa (UEA) had its main campus in Makerere, Kampala, Uganda with affiliate colleges in Dar es Salaam and Nairobi. In the early1970s, UEA split into three independent universities: the University of Dar es Salaam, Makerere University in Uganda, and the University of Nairobi.
The EAC acknowledges that youth traditionally bring energy, drive and passion to any activity they embark on, and the integration process in East Africa is no exception. Added to this is the Community’s view that the youth will be the major beneficiaries of an integrated East Africa which is expected to bring with it various benefits which include, among other things, harmonized fees in institutions of higher learning, increased employment opportunities, better infrastructure, increased trade and investment, and socio-cultural integration. Some of the youth are already reaping these benefits of the integration.
The EA Scholarship Programme is modelled on the Erasmus Programme (EURopean Community Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students) –an EU student exchange programme that was established in 1987.
Erasmus scholars study at least three months or undertake an internship of at least two months to an academic year in another European country. The programme has an in-built guarantee credit transfer scheme as long as the scholars abide by the terms previously set. A key component of the programme is that students do not pay extra tuition fees to the university that they visit. Scholars are also eligible to apply for an Erasmus grant to cover additional expenses occasioned by studying abroad.
For many EU students, Erasmus is their first time to live and study and abroad in another country. Erasmus has then become a cultural phenomenon and is highly popular among many students in Europe. The programme fosters learning and understanding of the host country.
The EAC on its part is convinced that the scholarship programme will help nurture a pan-East African identity among the youth. A year abroad will enable students to visit EAC Partner States other than the ones in which they were born and demystify any suspicions and mistrusts that could be inherent among citizens of one’s country vis-à-vis other countries. It will be a perfect opportunity for exposure of the youth to various peoples and cultures in East Africa.
As the EAC commemorates its 20th anniversary, it anticipates that the student exchange initiative engendered by the scholarship programme will foster regional integration by giving students a chance to live and learn in Partner States other than their own.
Going forward, the Community’s dream is that support for the scholarship programme will expand to include funding from philanthropists, Partner States’ governments, corporates and charitable foundations.
For more information, please contact:
Mr Owora Richard Othieno Head, Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Department EAC Secretariat Arusha, Tanzania Tel: +255 784 835021 Email: OOthieno [at] eachq.org
About the East African Community Secretariat:
The East African Community (EAC) is a regional intergovernmental organisation of six Partner States, comprising Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda, with its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, 22 July 2019: The confirmation of a fatal Ebola case in the Ituri province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) further increases the risk for the East African Community (EAC) region of the outbreak crossing the borders. The Ituri province is only 70 km from the South Sudanese border and even closer to the Ugandan border. The first three cases of Ebola in the EAC region were diagnosed in Uganda in June 2019 and triggered strong response measures by the Ugandan government. Trade is vibrant between DRC and the EAC region and can exacerbate the spread of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) due to the high mobility of people and goods. In the light of the Public Health Emergency of International Concern declared by the World Health Organization,) Dr Michael Katende, acting Head of Health at the EAC Secretariat urges the Partner States to strongly engage the communities in the border regions and traders and trade associations in risk and crisis communication measures. “This is particularly important, as most of the border line is porous and difficult to control” says Katende, “informal and formal traders need to know the risk and be able to take informed decisions to minimise it and to actively take precautions.”
EAC Partner States have put in place precautionary measures to stop the spread of EVD into the EAC region. This includes vaccinating frontline health workers, screening all travellers at points of entry including airports and training the first responders in case of an outbreak. However, these measures might not be sufficient. Dr Michael Katende, acting Head of Health at the EAC Secretariat was especially concerned about EVD spreading into South Sudan with its still rather weak health system.
The EAC Secretariat calls upon the Partner States to increase risk and crisis communication by involving community, religious and other leaders and the media in public awareness raising. At the same time, the Secretariat calls upon traders and trade associations and those travelling across the border with DRC to take extra precaution, as the EVD threat is real:
All people crossing the border should cooperate with immigration, health and security officials who are conducting screening at the points of entry and should strictly follow their advice.
Frontline health workers and members of the affected communities should accept to be vaccinated against EVD for their own protection and to help prevent the further spread of EVD.
People in the affected regions should avoid unnecessary ‘body to body’ contact as this is the main way of disease transmission.
The public should be vigilant and immediately inform the nearest health workers when spot a person with signs of EVD which are: fever, severe headache, body weakness, fatigue, diarrhea, vomiting, and unexplained haemorrhage (bleeding or bruising) from various body outlets like the nose, ears and mouth. This is particularly important along the “green border” where no screening measures are in place.
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Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern
Mr Owora Richard Othieno Head, Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Department EAC Secretariat Arusha, Tanzania Tel: +255 784 835021 Email: OOthieno [at] eachq.org
About the East African Community Secretariat:
The East African Community (EAC) is a regional intergovernmental organisation of six Partner States, comprising Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda, with its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 13th July, 2019: The Chiefs of Prisons/Correctional services of the EAC Partner States held an Extra-Ordinary Meeting in Kampala,Uganda from 11th to 12th July 2019. The meeting was convened to validate and adopt a Capacity Building Training Needs Assessment on Human Rights within the Prisons/Correctional Services of the EAC Partner States.
The meeting, chaired by the Commissioner General of Rwanda Correctional Service, Mr. Andrew Rwigamba, was attended by the Commissioner General of the Kenya Prisons Service, Mr. Wycliffe Ogallo, the Commissioner General Uganda Prisons Service Dr Johnson Byabashayija, while the Commissioner General of Prisons United Republic of Tanzania was represented by DCP John Masunga, the Director General Burundi Penitentiary Service by Mr. Aloys Habonimana and the Director General South Sudan Prisons Service by Maj Gen Longar Wol Dhel.
East African Court of Justice Arusha, 5th July, 2019: The First Instance Division granted an interim order restraining the Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA) from pursuing the recruitment process in respect of the position of Chief Research and Innovation Coordination Officer, until the determination of the main Case (Reference No.13 of 2017).
The Court said that it was satisfied that the Application has been conceded by the Respondent (IUCEA) through her supporting affidavit in reply, having agreed to suspend and halt the recruitment process in issue, pending the determination of the case. The court therefore did not subscribe to Counsel to the Community (CTC), Dr Anthony Kafumbe’s contention during the hearing of the Application, arguing that the Application is moot. Hence court granted the order.
